Article handling apparatus



Dec. 18, 1962 L. H. scHwARz ETAL 3,0

ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 15, 1959 HAPZ 11vZia/win b By FRANK/4, FEMHiW/CZ 1962 L. H. SCHWARZ ETAL 3,06 3

ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS U 1 'N ENTORJ Dec. 18, 1962 L. H. SCHWARZETAL 3,069,035

ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS Fil ed May 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 18,1962 L. H. SCHWARZ EIAL 3,069,035

ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 UnitedStates Patent 3,069,035 ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS Leonard H. Schwarzand Frank A. Remkiewicz, West Hartford, Conn; said Remkiewicz assignorto Leonard H. Schwarz, doing business as The Hedlen Company Filed May15, 1959, Ser. No. 813,587 13 (Ilairns. (Cl. 214-309) The presentinvention relates to article handling apparatus, and more particularlyto a machine for automatically handling articles, such as bottles,adapted to be contained in cases.

The invention may be advantageously incorporated in an uncasing machinewhich receives cases containing bottles and continually andautomatically unloads these bottles from the cases so that the bottlesand unloaded cases can be discharged from the machine.

In the past, various types of machines have been built for the purposeof automatically uncasing bottles. These machines have usually beenexpensive and complicated. :Prior machines have, for the most part,required a large amount of floor space. Many prior uncasing machineshave also used pneumatic and hydraulic actuating devices which requiredexpensive installations including sources of air or fluids underpressure.

An important problem in automatic bottle handling equipment has beenbreakage of bottles. In prior uncasing machines, bottles jammed in caseshave often been broken by application of excessive force in the courseof removal from the cases. Bottles out of proper position in a case alsohave been subject to breakage. In addition, many prior uncasing machinesare not capable of unloading bottles which are misaligned in a case andout of proper position therein.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide improvedapparatus for handling articles, such as bottles, adapted to becontained in a carrier or case.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improveddevice for engaging or gripping articles, such as bottles, by the use ofwhich the possibility of breakage of these articles is reduced.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide improvedarticle handling apparatus, suitable for 1111. casing bottles, which maybe constructed and installed at lower cost than similar apparatus forsuch purposes heretofore known.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provideimproved article handling apparatus which locates and engages articlesnot necessarily disposed in a certain position, but which may bemisaligned with the receptacles therefor, as in a case or carrier.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provideimproved and simplified mechanism for article handling apparatus whereinarticles are carried along a path, which automatically releases thearticles at a desired position along the path.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide animproved bottle gripping device for bottle uncasing machines which is ofsimple constructiomwhich handles a wide variety of bottle sizes, whichgrips bottles that are not in precise position for gripping engagement,and which rejects bottles jammed in a case without causing damage to therejected bottles.

Briefly described, an articles handling apparatus provided in accordancewith the present invention includes devices for gripping articles, suchas bottles. A conveyor carries these gripping devices continuouslybetween a loading station and an unloading station along a defined pathof travel. This path of travel includes descending portions andascending portions adjacent to the loading station. The gripping devicesare carried downwardly into engagement with the articles and grip andlift the 3,069,035 Patented Dec. 18, 1962 articles as the grippingdevices are carried upwardly on the conveyor. A portion of the path ofmovement of the gripping devices immediately over the loading station isconfigured to carry the gripping devices in a plurality of directionsacross the loading station so as to locate any of the articles whichmight be out of alignment or not in exact position for gripping. Thearticles are transferred by the gripping devices to a position over theunloading station. A release mechanism in the gripping devices isactuated by the devices as they reach the unloading station to releasethe articles at the unloading station.

The invention itself, both as to its organization and method ofoperation, as well as the foregoing and other objects and advantagesthereof, will become more readily apparent from a reading of thefollowing description in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a sectional View of a bottle uncasing machine incorporatingthe features of the present invention, the section being taken along theline 1--1 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the appended arrows;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the machine shown in FIG. 1, the sectionbeing taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 and viewed in the direction ofthe appended arrows; t 1 1 FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of aportion f the machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the operation of certainparts of the machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; i

FIG. 4a is an enlarged, fragmentary view schematically showing themovements of the bottle gripping units over the station at which bottlesare removed from the cases;

-FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partly in section, showing a bottlegripping device used in the machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIGS. 6 to 8, inclusive, are sectional views of the bottle grippingdevice shown in FIG. 5 illustrating the operation thereof.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a machine is shown which isespecially suitable for removing bottles 10 of the type used forcontaining soft drinks, malt beverages, etc. from cases 12. It will beappreciated, as the description of the illustrated bottle uncasingmachine proceeds, that the features which are provided by the presentinvention are also suitable for use in other article handling apparatus.The cases 12 shown in the drawings are of the type known in the art ashalfdepth cases. The illustrated machine is also suitable for use inextracting bottles from full-depth cases which fully enclose the sidesof the bottles, as will be explained here inafter. An L-shape supportstructure 14 for the machine is constructed of steel plates which arewelded together. The structure is mounted on dolly wheels 16 so that itmay be moved about a bottling plant for use where desired. A threadedrod 18 is secured to the bottom of the support structure by means ofnuts and may be extended to the floor for maintaining the machine inposition when it is placed in operation. A feed conveyor 20 is mountedin a framework 21 which is supported on a deck provided by the lower'legof the L-shaped support structure by rods 22 fastened to the supportstructure by nuts. The framework 21 is also constructed of welded steelplates. Guides 24 for the cases are mounted on the sides of theframework 21 to prevent excessive lateral movement of the cases as theyproceed along the I seen in FIG. 2 of the drawings. Three cases 12 areshown by dashed lines. The cases may be fed along rollers 26 by gravityfeed, for example. A stop 28 prevents the continuous flow of cases downthe feed conveyor. The cases are carried one at a time over the stop 28by means of a walking platform linkage 29. This linkage includes aplatform 30 carried by a plurality of links 32, 34 and 36. Anothersimilar set of links (not shown) is disposed on the opposite side of theframework 21. These links are pivotally connected between brackets 38attached to the walking platform. The links 32, 34 and 36 are alsopivotally connected to a slide 40 which travels in a slotted member 42and define a parallelogram linkage. A sprocket chain 44 is mounted on asprocket 48 and guide 46. Another sprocket (not shown) is mounted on thesame shaft as the sprocket 48. Another sprocket chain 50, which isdriven from a motor drive system (not shown), rotates the sprocket 48 ina counter-clockwise sense and thereby drives the sprocket chain 44. Thecenter link 34 is also pivotally connected to one of the links on thesprocket chain 44. Accordingly, the platform 30 engages the underside ofthe case 12 which is held against the stop 28. The center link 34 pivotsthe parallelogram linkage as the link 34 travels around to the lowerreach of the chain 44 so that the platform 30 lifts and carries eachsuccessive case over the stop 28 to the station at which the bottles areremoved from the case. Succeeding cases carried by the walking beam 30serve to push preceding cases away from the station. Each case is pushedinto position by the platform and not by the next following case. Thispositive push insures that each case is properly located and also makesit possible to push a plurality of empty cases up an incline if wanted.This removes the necessity for an additional unit, normally required inbottling plants for elevating empty cases.

The cases remain at the station for a time sufficient for the bottles tobe removed by the transfer mechanism to be described hereinafter. Theempty cases are discharged from the machine to some case dischargemeans, such as a chute or conveyor (not shown). Electrical limitswitches and stop switches may be incorporated as a safety measure toprevent operation of the feed conveyor when preceding cases are jammedin the machine, or for other purposes, as is conventional in theconveyor art. While a particular type of feed conveyor has beendescribed for the sake of completeness, it will be appreciated that anyfeed conveyor by which cases may be fed one at a time to a station maybe suitable.

The article transfer apparatus provided by the invention is supported ona framework 54 which may also be constructed of welded steel plates.Double walls are provided on each side of the framework 54. These wallsare defined by plates 56, 58, 60 and 62. A beam 66 formed of otherplates holds the side walls in spaced relationship. A rail 70 andanother rail 72 extend vertically in the forward corners of the L-shapedsupport structure 14. The framework 54 is held in place with the beam 66on the rails 78 and 72 in the support structure 14. A jack 74 isdisposed between a plate 78 in the framework of the L-shaped supportstructure 14 and the lower beam 66 in the other framework 54. The heightof the framework 54 above the ground may be adjusted by raising orlowering the framework along the rails 70 and 72 with the jack 74. Thisaffords flexibility of operation of the uncasing machine with bottlesand cases of different heights.

A conveyor 80 including a pair of sprocket chains, one of which 81 isshown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, is mounted in the framework 54 of thearticle transfer apparatus. These sprocket chains are held near theplates 58 and 60' of the framework 54 by means of guide tracks 82. Theconveyor 80, therefore, moves along a predetermined and predefined pathwhich will be described in greater detail hereinafter.

The conveyor is driven by means of drive sprockets 84 and 86. Thesesprockets 84 and 86 are keyed for rotation on shafts 88 and 89. Thedrive sprocket 84 drives the sprocket chain 81 while the other drivesprocket 86 drives the sprocket chain (not shown) disposed on the plate60 of the framework 54. Power for driving the sprockets 84 and 86 isderived from a motor 90. The motor 90 is belt-coupled to a pulley 92 ona gear box 94. This gear box 94 contains speed reduction gears. Theoutput shaft 98 from the gear box 94 drives a sprocket 168. The sprocket100 is chain-coupled to another sprocket 102 mounted on a shaft 104which is immediately behind the shaft 88. A smaller sprocket 106 andanother smaller sprocket of diameter equal to the diam eter of thesprocket 106 are both mounted on the shaft 104. These smaller sprocketsincluding the sprocket 106 are chain coupled, individually, to sprockets108 and 110 which are keyed to the shafts 88 and 89, respectively. Thesesprockets turn the shaft 88 and the drive sprockets 84 and 86 therewith.Another pair of sprockets, of which only the sprocket 112 is shown, isslidably disposed in slots 114 in the framework, and the weight thereofserves to tighten the sprocket chains 116 connecting the sprocket 186and its associated sprocket on the shaft 104 to the sprockets 1G8 and118 on the drive shaft 88.

A plurality of bottle gripping devices 182 are carried on the sprocketchain conveyor 80. Two carriages 120 and 122 for the support of arraysof gripping devices are used in the illustrated machine. These carriages120 and 122 are attached to the conveyor by means of brackets 124 and126 of generally V-shaped configuration to be described in detailhereinafter.

Reference is made to FIG. 5 which shows an individual one of the bottlegripping devices 182 used in the machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.The gripping device shown in FIG. 5 is supported on a pair of anglemembers 130. These members are fastened together by a strip 132 of metalwhich is clamped against the angle members by nuts and bolts 134disposed near opposite ends of the strip 132. The angle members 130 arealso held in spaced relationship from each other by spacer sleeves 138around long bolts 136 which pass through holes on the vertical sides ofthe angle members 130. The angle members 130 and the bolts 136surrounded by the spacer sleeves 138 provide a frame for supportinggripper finger members 140 and 142. These members 140 and 142 have frontend portions which are bent inwardly and then outwardly to define bulges144 adapted to engage a bottle at its neck just below the bulbous headportion of the bottle. The upper ends of the gripper finger members arebent inwardly. These gripper fingers may be made of steel plate.Flanged, semi-cylindrical members 146 are welded to each of the members140 and 142.

A U-shaped bracket 148 is loosely mounted on the angle members 130between the bolts 136 so that it hangs from the angle members 130. Thegripper finger members 140 are freely and pivotally mounted between theends of the bracket 148. Pins 150 for mounting the fingers on thebracket 148 extend through holes in the bracket and through the flangedsemi-cylindrical members 146 on the fingers 140 and 142. Pin clips 152of L-shaped configuration extend through holes at each end of themounting pins 150 and in the bracket 148. The ends of these pins whichextend inwardly of the bracket 148 serve to prevent the upper ends ofthe fingers from moving too far outwardly beyond the bracket 148 toavoid interference thereof with the operation of the gripper fingers ofadjacent gripper devices.

A bolt 154 extends through a hole in the center strip 132. Sleeves 156and 158 surround this bolt. The sleeve 156 is disposed between the strip132 and a nut 160 on the bolt 154 and holds the bolt rigidly in place onthe strip 132 when the nut 160 is tightened. A washer 162 is disposedbetween the bottom of the angle members and the lower sleeve 158. Acompression spring 164 is loosely seated on the head of the bolt 154. Arectangularcam member 166 rests on the top of this compression spring164. The sleeve 158 rests on the cam member .166. Accordingly,tightening the bolt rigidly fastens the cam member 166, spring 164 andsleeves 156 and 158 on the frame defined by the angle members 130 at thecenter strip 132.

A pair of tubular members 168 and 170 is loosely mounted on top of theangle members 130 beneath the bracket 148 by means of pins 172. Thesemembers serve to effect release of any article held between the gripperfingers 140 and 142.

The operation of the gripper devices will be described with reference toFIGS. 6, 7 and 8. FIG. 6 shows a bottle engaged by the neck below thehead by the gripper fingers 140 and 142. In order to engage the bottle10, the support frame of the gripper device is lowered so as to bringthe fingers 140 and 142 to a level below the head of the bottle 10.Since the fingers are freely and pivotally mounted on the bracket 148,the fingers spread apart and slide over the head of the bottle toreceive the bottle neck therebetween. While the fingers are beinglowered over the head of the bottle, the bracket 148 to which thefingers are secured may also rise slightly. The bracket and fingers areconstructed of thin plate material so that their weight is notexcessive. Accordingly, the bottle is not damaged as the fingers slideover the head of the bottle. If the bottle is slightly out of place, thefingers can pivot and the bracket can tilt and thereby move over asignificant distance (approximately one inch where the bracket is aboutfour and one-half inches long and the fingers are each about threeinches in overall length). Therefore, the fingers will slide over theneck of a misaligned bottle so that the misaligned bottle is receivedbetween the fingers.

After the gripper device is lowered and the bottle is receivedbetweenthe fingers 140 and 142, the frame is raised. This causes the fingers togrip the bottle so that the bottle will-be raised with the frame. Thecam member 166 engages the bent upper ends of each of the fingers 140and 142, as the frame is raised, to cause the fingers 140 and 142 topivot toward each other at their lower ends. The bottles are heldbetween the fingers with a force equal to the weight of the bottle. Thisis because the bottles are held by tong action of the freely pivotallymounted finger members and without the addition of any external springor other forces. Since bottles are designed to be supported by theirnecks by forces much greater than their own weight, even when containinga beverage, the possibility of breaking a bottle due to excessive forceapplied to the neck thereof is minimized. Moreover, it is unnecessary toattach rubber or other soft materials to the bottle engaging ends of thefingers 140 and 142 in order to prevent damage to the bottles andtoabsorb excessive forces as was the case in many prior bottle handlingmachines. Such materials tend to soften and wear out quickly or becomecontaminated in use, thereby requiring replacement.

The possibility of breaking a bottle which might be jammed in a case orcarrier is also minimized, as will be observed by reference to FIG. 8 ofthe drawing. Let it be assumed that the bottle 10 is jammed, as bybecoming wedged, in a compartment of a case or carton.

Wedging of a bottle is a common occurrence in bottling plants, sinceforeign material may fall into the case and jam the bottle in a casecompartment. The spring 164 on which the cam member 166 rests serves toprevent the extraction of a jammed bottle from a case. As was observedfrom the discussion in connection with FIG. 6, the cam member 166engages the bent upper ends of thefingers as the fingers rise and causesthese fingers to pivot toward each other at their lower ends. In theevent that a bottle is jammed in the case, downward forces applied byjammed bottles and transmitted through the fingers 140 and 142 areapplied against the cam member 166. These downward forces serve tocompress the spring 164. As the spring compresses, the cam member 166does not move upwardly with the angle members an appreciable amount.Accordingly, the fingers and 142 do not pivot toward each other at theirlower ends to the extent which would be the case if the bottles were notjammed in the carrier. The initial length of the spring is adjusted bytightening the bolt 154 so that the spring may be compressed bysufiicient amount in the course of the upward movement of the gripperdevices to prevent the cam 166 from forcing the lower ends of thefingers 140 and 142. together possibly to crush and break the bottle. Inother Words, excessive forces which might otherwise damage the bottleare absorbed in the spring 164 while the gripper device is raised.

FIG. 7 shows the operation of the gripper device upon the release of abottle 10 which has been lifted and carried by the device. It will beobserved that the gripper fingers 140 and 142 are freely pivotallymounted on the bracket 148. The bottle 10 is, therefore, held by tongaction only when the cam member 166 is disposed between the bent upperends of the fingers 140 and 142. The release members 168 and 170 aredisposed below the closed end of the bracket 148. These members 168 and170 extend outwardly beyond the ends of the angle members 130 on thesupport frame for the gripper unit. A release bar 180, shown in FIG. 7as an angle member, is adapted to engage the release members 168 and170. The actuation and operation of the release bar and its associatedmechanism will be described in detail hereinafter and particularly byreference to FIG. 3 of the drawings.

When the release bar is raised, the release members 168 and 170 are inturn raised. The bracket 148 is lifted by the release members 168 and170 and raises the bent upper ends of the fingers 140 and 142 over thecam member 166, since the cam member 166 is stationary on the supportmembers 130. The fingers then pivot apart from each other due to theforce applied by the weight of the bottle, and the bottle dropsdownwardly. A discharge conveyor maybe disposed below the unloadingstation at which the bottles are released.

A plurality of gripping devices 182 are mounted together in an array asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for the purpose of removing all of the bottlescarried in a case at the same time. As many rows of as many grippingdevices .182 as needed may be mounted in a unitary array. In theillustrated machine, six gripping devices may be mounted as a unit oneach pair of angle member 130. Four pairs of angle members having sixgripping devices mounted thereon may be assembled in a frame. Thisprovides an array of 24- gripping devices suitable for extractingbottles from cases of the standard type which contain twenty-fourbottles. In FIG. 2, only one of the units disposed on one pair of anglemembers is shown in order to clarify the illustration.

The array of gripping devices 182 is mounted between two pairs of hangermembers 184 and 186. The hanger members of each pair are connectedtogether by different bars 188. The angle members 130 are securedbetween the pairs of hanger members 184 and 186 by means of the tiebolts 136. Only one tie bolt need be passed through each pair of anglemembers 13%} at opposite ends of the angle members. The brackets 148 ofthe gripping devices 182 are kept in place in the array by means of thebolt 154 and sleeve 156 arrangements which extend through holes at thetop of the brackets 148. Other rods 190 connected between opposite onesof the hanger members 184 and 186 add additional support to the frameunit. The relative spacing of the respective gripping devices on theangle members 130 is readily adjusted by loosening the nut 134 andmoving the center strip 132. Similarly,

the distance between adjacent pairs of angle members 130 may be adjustedby changing the length of the sleeves around the tie bolts 136.

An array of gripping devices 182 is mounted on the carriage 120. Thecarriage 120 includes two carriage bars which are spaced parallel toeach other and each of which is located near one of the sprocket chainsof the sprocket chain conveyor. These bars are held together by means ofrods 192, 194 and 196. A bumper 198 is disposed around the rod 196. Thehangers 1 84 and 186 may be detachably secured to the carriage 120 byslipping the hook end of the hangers 134 and 186 over the rods 192 and196.

A number of arrays of gripper units having different arrangements of thegripping devices or different size gripping devices thereon maybe usedinterchangeably with each bottle uncasing machine so that the machine isadaptable for use with different types of cases such as might beencountered in any bottling plant. Since the arrays of gripping unitsare readily interchanged, switching the machine from operation with onetype of case or bottle to operation with another type may beaccomplished readily and quickly.

The carriage 120 is attached to the chains of the convey r 80 by meansof the mounting brackets 124 on each side of the carriage. The carriage122, which is also mounted on the sprocket chain conveyor 80, is similarto the carriage 126 in all respects and carries a similar array ofgripping devices 132, only one of which is shown in the drawing toclarify the illustration. The array of gripping units 182 is mounted onthe other carriage 122 by means of hangers 184 and 186'. The carriage122 is attached to the chains 80 by means of brackets 126 similar to thebrackets 124.

The brackets 124 and 126 are two-part structures. Each part has anopening near one end for receiving the centerrod 194 of the carriage.This center rod is pivotally mounted in these openings in the bracketsso that the entire carriage may swing and tilt about the axis of thecenter rod 194. The parts of the bracket 124 are in dividually attachedto adjacent links of the chains constituting the conveyor 80. Thebrackets 124 therefore securely hold the carriage on the chains 80. Eachpart of the brackets 124 is of a predetermined length. It will beappreciated that the array of gripper units follows the path of the axisof the rod 194. This is a predetermined path of travel defined by theshape of the sprocket chains constituting the conveyor 80. The path hasa predetermined configuration at the loading station at which thebottles are gripped and lifted out of the cases 12. Since the gripperunits descend vertically into a case, the

sides of the case do not interfere with the unloading op- U eration.Thus, full-depth as well as half-depth cases may be unloaded.

The path of the chainconveyor (FIGS. 1, 4 and 4a) includes an ascendingportion 200 and a descending portion 202. At the lowest point in thepath of travel, the chain conveyor travels through an are 204. The are204 is a generally circular are. It will be noted that the ascending anddescending portions 200 and 202 of the path of travel are parallel andseparated by a certain distance. The radius of curvature of the are 204is greater than one-half of this certain distance. The length of thearms of each of the bracket 124 is such that the axis of the rod 194 isat a point one-half the certain distance between the ascending anddescending portions 200 and 202 of the path. The axis of the rod 194therefore moves downwardly and then upwardly along the same verticalpath when the carriage 120 is descending and ascending along thedescending and ascending portions 202 and 200, respectively, of thechain conveyor path. However, since the radius of curvature of the arc204 is greater than the distance between the axis of the rod 194 and thechain conveyor path, this axis does not rotate about a dead centerposition when the carriage 120 is carried around the are 204. FIG. 4ashows how the rod 194 travels with the conveyor around are 204 byillustrating three &

positions A, B and C of the rod 194. In two of these positions A and Bthe bracket 124 connecting the rod 194 to the conveyor is on the rightside (as viewed in FIG. 4a) half of the arc. In position C, the rod 194is over the center of the are 204. The equal radial distances from therod 194 to the are 204 in each of the positions A, B and C areindicated, respectively, by the arrow headed lines A, B and C. Thepositions of the rod 194, when the bracket 124 travels upwardly alongthe left side of the are 204, are not shown to simplify and clarify thedrawing, since these positions are symmetrical, with respect to thebisector of the arc, to the indicated positions A and B. The actual pathof the axis of the rod 194 and the consequent movement of the grippingdevices 182 is shown in FIG. 4. The line drawing (FIG. 4) shows the pathof movement of the axis by the direction of the arrows 206. This pathhas a particular loop configuration, since the path is traced by theaxis of the rod 194 as it moves around the arc and is spaced from thecircumference of the are by a distance greater than the radius ofcurvature thereof. a

It will be noted that the carriage and therefore the array of gripperunits is carried in one direction and then in an opposite directionduring a dwell period as the carriage is carried around the arc portion204. This causes the gripper fingers and 142 to traverse, back andforth, in opposite directions across the loading station at which thebottles are removed from the case. This traversal of the loading stationis in the nature of a fishing or locating motion, whereby the necks ofthe bottles are located between the fingers 140 and 142 of each of thegripping devices 132 even though these bottles 10 may be out of place ormisaligned in their case or carrier.

A pantograph mechanism 210 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and another pantographmechanism 212 maintain the carriages 120 and 122, respectively,substantially level during movement of the carriages along the chainconveyor 80. Such a mechanism is desirable to prevent the array ofgripping devices 182 from tilting excessively, which might cause thebottles 10 which are lifted and transported by the gripping devices 182to slide out of the fingers. These pantograph mechanisms aresubstantially identical so that only the mechanism 2110 need bedescribed in detail herein. It includes a pair of pantograph arms 213and 214 which are attached between the side wall plates 56 and 58 of theframe 54. These arms 213 and 214 are pivotally connected by means ofT-brackets 216 and 218 to the plates 56 and 58. The free ends of thearms 213 and 214 are connected to diametrically opposite points on aring member 220. A bent pantograph arm 222 and another pantograph arm224 are also pivotally connected to the ring 220. These arms areconnected at points on the ring which are diametrically opposite to eachother and ninety degrees away from the points of connection on the ringof the other arms 213 and 214. The arms 222 and 224 are connected to thecarriage 122 through a bushing, as shown in the case of the otherpantograph mechanism 212. The parts of the other pantograph mechanism212 are identified by the same reference numerals as used in the case ofthe pantograph mechanism 210. The length of the arms of each of thepantograph mechanisms 210 and 212 is adjusted so that the carriages andthe arrays of gripping devices 182 are kept level and in a horizontalplane at all times during the movement of the gripper devices alongtheir path of travel.

After gripping and lifting the bottles 10 out of the case 12 at theloading station, the gripping devices are carried by the conveyor alonga path around the chain drive sprocket wheel 84 to an unloading stationover a discharge apparatus for the bottles 10. This discharge apparatusis shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings by the dotdashed lines as the feedtable for a bottle washer loader 9 machine of the type such as may befound in most modern bottling plants.

A release mechanism is mounted on each of the inner side wall plates 60and 58 at positions opposite to each other. The mechanisms aresubstantially identical. They include a release bar 180 which wasmentioned in connection with FIG. 7 of the drawings. This release bar180 is an angle iron. One leg of the release bar angle iron extendsoutwardly away from the side wall plate. A bell crank lever 246 includesan operating arm and a link arm. The link arm is pivotally connected toa support 248 and to the release bar 180. Another link 250 is connectedto the support 248 and to release bar 180. The connection of the link250 is a pivotal connection to each of the members 180 and 248, as wasthe case for the link arm of the bellcrank lever 246. The link arm ofthe bellcrank lever 246 and the link 250 are parallel to each other.Accordingly, when the bellcrank lever 246 is pivoted in a clockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 1, the release bar 180 moves upwardly andforwardly and at all times maintains the release bar 180 parallel to thesupport 248. The support 248 is arranged parallel to the carriages 120and 122 and therefore parallel to the gripper units.

The operation of the release mechanism is best illustra-ted in FIG. 3.As the carriage 120 moves along the chain conveyor 80 into the unloadingstation over the discharge device 252, the bumper 198 around the'rod 196strikes the arm of the bellcrank 246. Further movement of the carriage120 causes the bellcrank 246 to pivot in a clockwise direction, asindicated by the arrow. The release bar 180 is then raised upwardly. Aspointed out in connection with FIG. 7, the release bar 180 engages theends of the release members. 168 and 170 in the gripper units 182, Sincethe release bar in each release mechanism is always parallel to thesupport 248, and since the release members 168 and 170 are alwaysmaintained by the parallelogram mechanism, including the arms 224 and222, parallel to the support bar 248, all of the release members 168 and170 for each group of four gripping device units are engagedsimultaneously and are raised simultaneously. When the release membersare raised, the brackets 148 supporting the gripping fingers of each ofthe gripping devices 182 are raised so that they are permitted to pivotfreely. The bottles 10 are then released onto the discharge apparatus252.

It will be appreciated that two release mechanisms are operatedsimultaneously so as to lift the release members 168 and 170 in thearray of gripping units' at both ends without tilting. Accordingly, allof the bottles 10 held by the gripping units 182 are droppedsimultaneously at the unloading station on the discharge apparatus 252.After unloading the bottles of the unloading station, the gripperdevices are carried by the carriage 120 along the upper reach of thechain conveyor 80 and again downwardly along the descending portion 200of the path to remove another group of bottles from their case.

Two groups of bottle gripper units are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 ofthe drawings. It is desirable to use two groups of bottle gripper unitsso that one group may deposit bottles at the unloading station atapproxi mately the same time as bottles are being lifted out of a caseat the loading station. This increases the speed of operation of theillustrated bottle uncasing machine. One array of bottle gripper unitsmay be used, if desired, for slower speed operation.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has beenprovided improved article handling apparatus especially suitable for usein uncasing bottles and similar articles. While a bottle uncaser hasbeen shown in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, variouscomponents and elements useful therein, as well as variations in themechanisms themselves, all coming within the spirit of the invention,will, no doubt, readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

10 Hence, it is desired that the foregoing shall be considered merely asillustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. Article handling apparatus for transferring an article between aloading station and an unloading station which comp-rises articletransfer means having freely pivotal fingers mounted on a support memberfor engaging said article and carrying said article therewith when saidfingers are raised with said support member and actuable to release saidarticle when said fingers are raised independently of said supportmember, means for defining a path of travel for said transfer meansbetween said loading and unloading stations, said path having anascending portion adjacent to said loading station so that said transfermeans engages an article at the loading station upon leaving saidloading station, and means operated by said transfer means for actuatingsaid transfer means to raise said fingers independently of said supportmember to release said article at said unloading station.

2. In a bottle uncasing machine for removing from a case, at a loadingstation, bottles having necks and discharging. said bottles at anunloading station, the combination which comprises means for grippingsaid bottles including a plurality of pairs of freely pivotal fingermembers, and means for defining a path of travel for said gripping meansbetween said loading and unloading stations having a portion ofpredetermined configuration which traverses said loading station in aplurality of directions opposite to each other to carry said fingermembers over said case whereby to permit said finger members to pivotinto position surrounding the necks of said bottles.

tion and carrying said article to said unloading station, a conveyor forcarrying said gripper unit between said stations over a path having aU-shaped portion, said portion having an arcuate end which has a certainradius of curvature adjacent said loading station, a bracket carried bysaid conveyor, and means for pivotally mounting said gripper unit onsaid bracket at a distance less than the radius of curvature of saidarcuate end of said U- shaped path portion on the inside of saidU-shaped path portion whereby said gripper unit moves to locate thearticle at said loading station.

. 4. In article handling apparatus for transferring articles between aloading station and an unloading station,

the combination which comprises article gripper means for gripping saidarticles at said loading station and carrying said articles to saidunloading station, a conveyor for carrying said gripper means over aclosed path between said stations, said path having portions descendingtoward said loading station, passing through a generally circular areover said loading station and then ascending, said descending andascending portions being parallel to each other and spaced from eachother by a given distance, said are having a radius of curvature greaterthan one-half said given distance, a bracket secured to said conveyorand extending toward the inside of said path,

'and means for mounting said gripper means on said bracket at a distanceequal to one-half said given distance from said path on the insidethereof whereby said gripper means can execute motions to locate saidarticle at. said loading station.

5. An article transferdevice for engaging an article at a loadingstation which comprises a pair of article gripping finger members eachfreely and pivotally movable toward and away from the other, means forcarrying said finger members over said loading station along a pathwhich traverses said loading station in opposite directions so as tolocate said article between said finger members at said loading station,and means for pivotally advancing said members toward each other toengage said located article at said loading station.

6. A bottle gripping device which comprises a movable support, aU-shaped bracket loosely mounted on said support with the open enddepending from said support, a pair of gripping finger members freelypivotally mounted at the lower end of said bracket, said finger membershaving opposed ends inwardly bent toward each other for locating andengaging a bottle between one pair of said opposed ends, a cam membercarried by said support and disposed between said finger members forengaging the other pair of opposed ends of said finger members when saidsupport is moved upwardly to pivot said one pair of opposed ends towardeach other to grip said bottle, and a bar disposed between said sup portand the closed end of said bracket movable upwardly to raise saidbracket and release said finger members from engagement with said cam torelease said bottle.

7. A bottle gripping unit which comprises a movable support member, aplurality of U-shaped brackets hanging from said support member andspaced from each other thereon, a plurality of pairs of gripping fingermembers, each pair of said finger members being freely pivotally mountedon a different one of said brackets for free pivotal movement of eachfinger member of each said pairs toward and away from the other, aplurality of cam members fixedly supported on said support, each of saidmembers being disposed between a different one of said pairs of fingermembers for pivoting said finger members toward each other intoengagement with bottles to be gripped when said support is raised, and arelease member extending longitudinally of said support between saidsupport and the closed ends of said brackets and loosely mounted on saidsupport for releasing said bottles from said finger members bysimultaneously raising said brackets.

8. An article gripping device which comprises a pair of members movabletoward each other to grip an article therebetween, another membermovable in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of saidgripping members for urging said gripping members toward each other, asupport movable with said other member, and yieldable means forpositioning said other member on said support and yieldable in responseto forces on said other member in a direction toward said articlegreater than a certain magnitude when said other member moves in saidtransverse direction.

9. An article gripping device which comprises a pair of finger memberseach pivotable toward the other for gripping an article, means forraising said finger members for lifting said article including a membermovable upwardly between said finger members for engaging opposed endsthereof to pivot each of said finger members toward the other at theother ends thereof, and a spring for positioning said upwardly movablemember on said raising means yieldable in response to certain excessdownward force on said raising means to prevent gripping of said articleby said finger members.

10. A device for gripping a bottle in a case and for lifting the bottletherefrom which comprises a support, a pair of finger members looselymounted on said support for independent vertical movement wtih respectto said support, a rod depending from said support and fixedly mountedthereon, a cam member on said rod, and a compression spring holding saidcam member in position on said rod, said cam. member being disposedbetween said finger members to pivot said finger members toward eachother when said support is raised to finger closing position to therebycause said finger members to grip said bottle, said bottle being capableof exerting downward forces to compress said spring when said bot- 12tle is jammed in said case whereby to prevent raising of said cam memberto finger closing position.

11. Article handling apparatus for transferring articles between aloading station and an unloading station which comprises articletransfer means having a plurality of pairs of freely pivotal articleengaging fingers carried on a common support member for engaging saidarticles and carrying said articles therewith when said fingers areraised with said support member, means for carrying said transfer meansbetween said loading station and said unloading station, and releasemeans including a bar actuated by said transfer means when said transfermeans reaches said unloading station for operating said transfer meansand simultaneously raising all of said fingers independently of saidsupport member to release said articles at said unloading station.

12. Bottle handling apparatus for transferring bottles between a loadingstation and an unloading station, which apparatus comprises a support, aplurality of pairs of freely pivotable bottle gripping fingers carriedon said support for gripping and lifting said bottles when raisedtogether with said support and for releasing said bottles when raisedindependently of said support, a plurality of members carried on saidsupport and associated with said fingers for raising said fingers andreleasing said bottles when said members are raised, a conveyor disposedto travel along a path between said loading and unloading stations,means for attaching said support to said conveyor for movementtherewith, a bar disposed along and just out of the path of travel ofsaid conveyor near said unloading station, and a lever connected to saidbar and disposed in the path of travel of said attaching means andmovable by said attaching means for moving said bar into engagement withall of said releasing members for simultaneously raising all of saidreleasing members to release said bottles.

13. A bottle uncasing machine for lifting bottles from a case anddepositing said bottles on a discharge conveyor which comprises aplurality of bottle gripping devices each having a pair of pivotalfinger members, a plurality of members for supporting said fingermembers, a plurality of means secured to said supporting members forpivoting said finger members toward each other to grip individual onesof said bottles when said supporting members are raised, and a pluralityof members loosely mounted on said supporting members for opening saidfinger members to release said bottles, a conveyor, a bracket forconnecting said devices to said conveyor, said conveyor being downwardlymovable toward said case for engaging said bottles and upwardly movableout of said case for lifting said devices to grip and lift said bottlestherewith, said conveyor carrying said lifted bottles along apredetermined path of travel to a position over said discharge conveyor,a mechanism for releasing said bottles including a bar forsimultaneously engaging each of said release members when raised, and alever for raising said bar to raise said release members, said leverbeing disposed for engagement with said bracket when said devices aredisposed over said discharge conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 47,804Daniels May 23, 1865 1,050,521 Cunning Jan. 14, 1913 1,846,526 LormorFeb. 23, 1932 2,400,542 Davis May 21, 1946 2,681,161 Lorenz et a1. June15, 1954 2,684,800 Lewis July 27, 1954 2,695,190 Meierjohan Nov. 23,1954 2,696,927 Copping Dec. 14, 1954 2,863,579 Meyer Dec. 9, 1958

